our trip, in a nutshell

As much as I want to create posts for each and every experience we had in Vancouver, I know I am behind and the trip was a month away. Instead, I will share a few of my favorite pictures, from a few of my favorite places.

Garibaldi Lake in all of its glory. It was a 18-kilometer/11-mile hike (round trip), and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was amazing and I was very impressed with how well-marked the trail was. The hike was tough at times, but well worth it.  

Pemberton, British Columbia. It felt very Colorado-like from a landscape standpoint. We ate a restaurant called the Black Squirrel, which was located at the base of the this gigantic mountain. (I grew up in Westfield, Massachusetts, and black squirrels hold a place near and dear to my heart.)

The flowers in the city of Vancouver are spectacular. They are all huge and happy and colorful and growing like crazy.

Stanley Park is an impressive park in the city. We biked to it from our hotel. My favorite part were the totem poles, though the park was filled with other sculptures and gardens. Another Westfield, Massachusetts, reference too. 

I saw a photo of these sculptures on another friend’s Instagram page a few months back and fell in love. I completely forgot it was in Vancouver, until it was right in front of our noses. It is called A-maze-ing Laughter by an artist called Yue Minjun. It consists of fourteen enormous bronze statues and you can’t help but laugh when you are surrounded by their cheerful expressions. I wish they had one of these installations in every city.

This was one of our only non-seafood meals. Enter poutine. I had tried poutine before in Montreal, but it was simply just French fries, gravy, and cheese curds. This poutine also had shredded duck and eggs on top. A heart-attack in a bowl? Yes, but so, so, so delicious. We ate this in a restaurant on Granville Island called Edible Canada. Not only did they serve local fare, they sold some of the products they used in their dishes in a small store in the front of the restaurant.

Of course I am going to end with food and also say that it will be difficult planning trips where the destination is not Vancouver. I know we need to see the world and broaden our horizons, but if it were up to me I would go back again and again.